Model United Nations of the University of Chicago (MUNUC) Liveblog: Educating the Midwest

by KFC on February 5, 2012

Delegates caucus at MUNUC

Model United Nations of the University of Chicago (MUNUC) is the largest conference in the Midwest with 2,500 delegates descending upon Chicago to participate in a weekend of learning and fun. The conference, which has an emphasis on education, serves a vital role in the Midwest where Model UN conferences are not as widely available as in other parts of the country — many Midwestern delegates see this as their biggest conference of the year. Check out our liveblog of the conference!

As usual, we try to capture different photos of delegates and staff in action:

The Prairie School is excited for MUNUC

The Cranbrook Kingswood School takes a team photo before Opening Ceremonies

Sweden (The Prairie School) is active during unmoderated caucus in WIPO

Israel (Cathedral and John Connon School) debates an idea during unmoderated caucus in WIPO

Canada (Liberty Public Schools) speaks with another leading delegate in WIPO

Ghana (Keith Country Day School) leads a caucus bloc in WIPO

Jordan (Valparaiso High School) makes a speech in WIPO

Barbados (Edina High School) makes a speech in UNESCO

The co-delegates representing the Republic of Congo (Mundelein High School) address UNESCO

Delegates caucus in the International Labor Organization

A delegate speaks during unmoderated caucus in the International Labor Organization

Turkey (St. John's High School) tries to convince another delegate of his solutions in Interpol

Delegates exchange ideas with each other in the Ethiopian Derg

Delegates listen to ideas in the Ethiopian Derg

The dais of the Organization of American States is having fun at MUNUC

The co-delegates of St. Kitts and Nevis (Lake Forest Academy) work together in the OAS

Canada (Liberty Public Schools) listens to other delegates during unmoderated caucus in the OAS

Delegates caucus in the OAS

The USSR makes a speech in the Historical Security Council

SPECPOL in action

The sponsors for a draft resolution read off their ideas in DISEC. I couldn't catch all the sponsors but I believe Venezuela, Uzbekistan, Madagascar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Myanmar are on there along with the lead sponsor, Ethiopia (the delegate reading the resolution).

Oman (St. George's School) asks the sponsors a question in DISEC

Qatar (Illinois Math & Science) makes a speech in ECOFIN

The Philippines are enjoying their time in ECOFIN

Undersecretary-General for Specialized Agencies Clara Spera roams the halls to make sure all delegates are having fun in her committees

India (Warren Central High School) makes a speech in the G8/G20 Summit

Germany (Cambridge-Isanti High School) makes a speech in the G8/G20 Summit

Singapore (Glenbrook South High School) gets some feedback from the dais in the G8/G20 Summit

Delegates get in their team photos at the beautiful Palmer House Hilton after Closing Ceremonies

Awards Analysis:

MUNUC is meant to be an educational conference so competition is de-emphasized. Nevertheless, they do give out individual Outstanding, Honorable Mention, and Verbal Commendation awards. According to my unofficial tally of weighted scores, Liberty Public Schools and Deerfield High School seemed to be the top two performing delegations.

Culver Academy, Cambridge-Isanti School, Wayland Academy, The Blake School, Cranbrook Kingswood School, and Glenbrook South High School also put in outstanding performances. The following schools also saw a good number of their delegates win awards: Jefferson Area High School, Neuqua Valley High School, American Heritage School Plantation, Illinois Math & Science Academy, Edina High School, Walter Payton College Prep, Berkshire School, Cathedral and John Connon School, and the Chicagoland MUN Club.

Note that the Cathedral and John Connon School from India was competing on back-to-back weekends; they had successfully defended their Best International Delegation award at Harvard HMUN last week. Using their performance at both conferences to serve as a barometer, it goes to suggest that although many of these other Midwestern schools do not get a lot of press because they don’t have as many local conferences to attend, they are nonetheless excellent in committee and should not be overlooked when it comes to national recognition.